Big Boy Bed

Monday night we put the kids to bed and everything seemed normal but then Thom John heard something - or someone? -moving upstairs. Then he heard a door shut. Sean had climbed out of his crib! We put him back and explained that climbing out was dangerous and we'd like him to stay in his crib. A few minutes later, we heard Sean giggling and Baby Clare squawking on the monitor.  We went upstairs again to find that Sean had climbed out his crib again and into Baby Clare's crib! As Sean told Thom John, "I got out of my crib. I'm doing all kinds of tricks tonight, Daddy! I climbing out of my crib, I talking a lot."

To avoid playing games with Sean all week, Mommy gathered her two helpers after daycare on Tuesday and changed Sean's crib into a big-boy bed...



The "before" shot:

Helper #1 got out the wrench:

Helper #2 played "farm" in the hall:

Helper #1 decided he needed a break:

Helper #2 joined him:

Eventually we got back to work and finished the transition from crib to big-boy bed.  

On the first night, Tuesday, bedtime took extra long - extra books, extra songs, but eventually Sean settled down for the night.  On Wednesday night, he didn't want any extra stories or songs and ended up reading quietly by himself until he was ready to get tucked in. (He only hopped out of bed a couple of times that we know of.) 

Tonight - the third night - was a little rocky, with Sean saying he wanted his crib bars back, but he ended up settling down to sleep on his own.  So far it's the mornings that have been the major adjustment for us since Sean decided that "when the sun comes up, it's morning time and it's wake up time." Sounds like Mommy should go get some black-out curtains for the kids' room :-)

Memorial Day Weekend

What a hot, sunny Memorial Day weekend we had! On Sunday, we took the Sooy Babies to the beach. We spent the morning at the "real big playground" near Mama Jackie's house - crawling through tunnels, sliding down slides, and riding dinosaurs.

After the park we had lunch and then hit the beach - playing in the sand (Sean), splashing in the water (Clare), chasing seagulls (Sean), and snoozing on a towel (Clare).

On Monday, we cooled off with at-home splash day fun:

The kids had fun playing with the cool water, their buckets, and shaving cream!

And to cap off our 3-day weekend, Sean decided he's ready for a big-boy bed and climbed out of his crib! Oh boy!

First steps!!!!

Baby Clare took her first steps today! She spent the afternoon at daycare sporadically taking a couple of steps at a time. When I came to pick her up, she was taking two more steps! She took a few more at home and now we have the whole long weekend to practice more walking -- and to try to capture her walking on video! :-)

Fort Sumter

Shortly after arriving in Charleston, we took a ferry over to see Fort Sumter.

While Daddy and Clare explored the museum, Sean and I looked out at all the boats in the harbor and spotted a new friend:

Sean loved the ferry ride - Thom John took Sean out on the deck to look around while I stayed inside with Baby Clare. She snoozed while I listed to the informative narrative playing over the loudspeakers.

Arriving at the fort:

Looking across the harbor at Sullivan's Island:

After arriving at the fort, we listened to a brief lecture by a park ranger and then we were set loose to explore the fort. Sean liked climbing all the stairs to get to the top of the fort, which was really, really windy!! When it was Mommy's turn to take Sean up to the top, Sean gleefully whispered that we were hiding from Daddy and that he would never find us. As soon as we got to the top, Sean shouted, "HI DADDY!" he was so pleased to have "surprised" Daddy.

While Sean and Daddy went off to explore again, Clare practiced her cruising along the walls of the fort...

One Year Well Visit

Clare's one year went well. The doctor said Clare is looking great and hitting her development milestones. Here are her stats at one year:

Height: 30 inches (79th percentile)
Weight: 25 lbs 5 oz (96th percentile)
Head: 19.25 in (100th percentile)

Sean stayed home with Daddy during the exam so we had to entertain ourselves while waiting for the doctor and then waiting again for her 3 shots!

What's under here?

More popsicle sticks?

Whatever ... I know Mommy's got something for me in her bag...

Yup, there's something in here for me, I know it!

Oh yeah! That's the stuff!

Downtown and the Battery

Back to a post about our trip to Charleston. After arriving late Thursday morning, we had some time to burn before hopping on the ferry to Fort Sumter, so we took the Sooy Babies on a quick walk down to the Battery. We also walked all around downtown with family on Saturday morning before the wedding. Here are some snaps from our wanderings:



"Wow! Look at all these cannon balls! They're not hot!"

 

Sean wanted to go swimming!



The kids played in a gazebo ... moments before a wedding took place here!

Sean followed this super-friendly dog around and named him "Stevie"

"Stevie" and Sean had a good time splashing around in a fountain - what a way to cool down on a hot sunny morning!